It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special
"It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special" is the Christmas-themed episode (and also the series finale) of the TV series Tiny Toon Adventures, originally aired as a prime-time special on FOX. As suggested by the title (and a line in the opening sequence), the story is a parody of the Christmas classic film It's a Wonderful Life. Synopsis The special opens on Christmas Eve, much like the opening scene from It's a Wonderful Life, where various characters from the show are praying to the heavens on behalf of their star, Buster Bunny (with Plucky Duck being a seeming exception who then starts praying for Buster's sake when he's convinced that no one else is looking). Up in the sky, the voice of St. Joseph is heard to summon an angel named Harvey ( speaking with a George Bailey-esque voice), telling him that Buster Bunny is thinking of quitting Tiny Toons because he thinks he's a failure. Harvey's boss then proceeds to show him what circumstances led to this: Earlier that day, Buster is in charge of directing the Tiny Toons holiday special. During the rehearsals, Montana Max, who (akin to Mr. Potter) is in a wheelchair due to an accident while skiing with Morgan Fairchild, is outraged to learn that he's been cut out of the special because Buster didn't think he would show up. Furious, Max does everything to ruin the rehearsals - he causes Li'l Sneezer to sneeze during his Christmas Carol sketch, he convinces Babs that Buster is hitting on her ice skating partner Cher, he rigs the stage so that Cher falls into a tub of Acme piranhas, and then he places TNT in Plucky and 's microphones. Everyone takes out their frustration on Buster, and to make matters worse, the FOX network executives put Max in charge of making the special. Feeling he's let everybody down, Buster leaves, causing his friends to worry for him. Buster heads off to literally "throw himself out of the picture" (by jumping out of the celluloid), but before he can do so, Harvey (whose appearance is that of a tall white rabbit) drops in, introducing himself to Buster as his "guardian toon angel". Buster refuses to believe this angel is for real, until he makes a wish that he'd never been on Tiny Toons, which Harvery instantly grants. On this note, Buster declares, "You're nuts! Warner Bros. would never let me out of my contract!", at which point a bolt of lightning disintegrates it from his hand. To prove his point, Harvey takes Buster to an alternate reality where he never existed. Acme Acres is now taken over by Montana Max and called "Montyville", and Plucky Duck is the main star of Tiny Toons, with Babs stuck as the hapless patsy who is a constant victim of anvils dropping on her. When Buster sees this, he storms the set of the show and confronts Plucky, screaming, "What are you, Goofy?" Insulted by that remark ("What are you, a spy from Disney?!"), Plucky has the alternate equivalents of Arnold and Sneezer (the latter of whom is named Sleezer) throw him out. Refusing to listen to what Harvey's telling him, Buster takes a look at Acme Looniversity, only to find that it is "Montana Max's Business Looniversity", where students can learn about business 24/7 (literally, because Max has given the students an 18-hour day, due to the holidays). The final crushing blow for Buster comes from when he meets the alternate version of Babs, who has become a major bummer of a nerd (and is dressed like the alternate version of Mary Bailey) after watching cartoons in the film vault. After she and Buster introduce themselves to each other and Buster finishes with the famous end line, "No relation," Babs wonders if she knows him (because it's the first time since she'd starred with Plucky on Tiny Toons that that end line has worked). When Buster tells her flat-out that they're the real stars of the series, Babs berates that idea and flat-out insists Plucky is the star. On this, Buster pleads to Harvey to send him back to the world he knows, which Harvey agrees to do, but first they have to break for commercials. After the commercial break, Harvey disappears and seems to abandon Buster, until the Babs that Buster knows comes into the film vault and addresses him directly. Buster is ecstatic about this and runs about kissing and giving holiday greetings to everything in sight (including wishing a Happy Hanukkah to executive producer ), until finally Babs stops him and tells him that Monty, as the new director, is ruining the special (his skits include Plucky reading a ridiculous poem about banking, and Elmyra being cast as ). Buster's position as director is restored when he returns to the Looniversity, and Buster then promises Max that he's given him a new part as the star - though, as Max soon finds out, Buster means "Christmas tree star". Buster then reveals that earlier he was asking Cher what to give Babs for Christmas; when Babs asks what it was, Buster responds by giving her a very deep kiss. The special ends with the main characters singing a song concluding with a variation of Clarence's note to George: "No Toon is a failure who has friends." In the very last shot, Harvey takes off his costume, revealing himself to be Bugs Bunny, and comments, "Not bad... for amateurs." Trivia * Besides the plot, other references to It's a Wonderful Life include: ** Max is introduced as "the richest and meanest toon in Acme Acres", similar to Mr. Potter's introduction. ** When Buster comments on her dress, Cher replies, "This old thing? I only wear it when I don't care how I look." ** Gogo Dodo slides down a banister, knocking off a loose banister knob. ** In the cartoons that Alternate Babs is watching in the film vault, Porky Pig tells Petunia that he's going to lasso the moon for her, and Pepe Le Pew applies a cologne labeled "Zuzu's Petals". * Parody versions of The Grinch, Max, and Sam the Snowman appear during Buster & Babs' sled ride. * In addition to Cher and William Shatner (the latter of whom is called "The Parum-Pum Man" in the end credits), the celebrity guest stars at the rehearsals include (as The Ghost of Christmas Past in Sneezer's sketch) and (whom Plucky insultingly addresses as "Mr. 'I Star In A Show About Zip Codes'"). * In the alternate reality, Bugs/Harvey reads a newspaper with the headline "''Encino Man'' Wins Best Pic Oscar". * The closing song's line "If your Christmas tree's pathetic" has a visual of Buster & Babs drawn to look like Charlie Brown and Lucy van Pelt with the tree from A Charlie Brown Christmas. * This special was also the last regular episode of Tiny Toons ever produced, and the last one to air on FOX. Although this is the show's official series finale, an earlier episode that FOX had refused to run ("Toons From the Crypt") would eventually air when the show's reruns were picked up by Nickelodeon. Cast External links *WB Animated Universe Wiki: Category:Episodes Category:Specials Category:Warner Bros. Animation Category:Originally aired on FOX Category:Released in the 1990s